


The Only Exception

by UnbotheredGrouch, WhimsicalLibra21



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Lovers, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27971591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnbotheredGrouch/pseuds/UnbotheredGrouch, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhimsicalLibra21/pseuds/WhimsicalLibra21
Summary: Nico Di Angelo owns the Michelin star restaurant, Olympus. He has great friends like Katie Gardner who work there for him. What happens when a vibrant food truck, owned by Will Solace and his friends, starts selling food right outside his restaurant? Will they get into a deadly war for culinary superiority, or will Nico and Katie risk it all in the name of love?
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Hades/Persephone (Percy Jackson), Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Katie Gardner/Travis Stoll, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Silena Beauregard/Charles Beckendorf, Thalia Grace/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	1. The Mess I Made

**Author's Note:**

> So, recently a follower of mine on Fanfiction.net told me that she had seen this fic where Nico owns a Michelin star restaurant and Will parks his food truck in front of it, which results in rivalry. But through a turn of events they fall in love. But she had forgotten to bookmark this fic and therefore couldn't read it. She asked me if I could work on this promt and write a fic. So, to write this, I roped in my best friend ....and here we are.
> 
> Shoutout to Lucy. Hope you enjoy this :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico Di Angelo owns the Michelin star restaurant, Olympus. He has great friends like Katie Gardner who work there for him. What happens when a vibrant food truck, owned by Will Solace and his friends, starts selling food right outside his restaurant? Will they get into a deadly war for culinary superiority, or will Nico and Katie risk it all in the name of love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, recently a follower of mine on Fanfiction.net told me that she had seen this fic where Nico owns a Michelin star restaurant and Will parks his food truck in front of it, which results in rivalry. But through a turn of events they fall in love. She had forgotten to bookmark this fic and therefore couldn't read it so she asked me if I could work on this prompt and write a fic. So, to write this, I roped in my best friend ....and here we are.
> 
> Shoutout to Lucy. Hope you enjoy this :)

"Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.”  
\- Maya Angelou

The rythmic clicking of heels was heard as Katie Gardner walked across the sidewalk. She tucked away her thick brown hair and checked the time on her watch. Realising that she was going to be even more late, she quickened her pace. 

She sighed, hoping Nico wouldn't be mad at her. Unlike her other co-workers at Olympus, she didn't own a vehicle of any kind and depended on the yellow cabs circling the city.

Of course, today was not her lucky day. Not only had she overslept, she also wasn't able to catch a cab and therefore had to walk all the way to Olympus.

Olympus was a famous, Michelin star restaurant that hosted the wealthy and famous. It was owned by Nico Di Angelo, who was one of her closest friends. She loved working there as a chef.

Basically all of her friends worked there too. Jason and Percy worked with her as chefs . Piper, Frank and Hazel waited on the customers, while Annabeth was the manager of the beautiful restaurant. 

Of course, there were others who worked there as well. A famous restaurant like Olympus couldn’t be run on three chefs and waiting staff. 

Katie considered it extremely lucky that she could work in such an amazing restaurant with some of her closest friends. 

She let a soft smile adorn her face as she turned a corner. She was getting closer to the restaurant. 

Just then, a loud ringing was heard from her bag. Hoping that it wasn't Nico calling to yell at her, she turned her attention to the sound, trying to get her phone out.

With barely a second's warning, she crashed right into someone and fell on the ground, hard.

Her phone slipped out of her hand and landed on the concrete near her. It took Katie a second to realise that the clothes she had specifically chosen to wear that day were stained. There were splashes of different colours on it. Red, blue, green. She might as well have looked like a clown that escaped the circus. 

Anger filled her as she raised her head to glare at the delinquent who put her in this state. A tall young guy with soft, brown curls and green eyes, who seemed to be in his mid 20s, stood in front of her with an apologetic smile. 

He offered his hand to help her up. She narrowed her eyes at him and pushed it away. She then got off the dusty ground on her own, not realising that her phone still lay on the ground.

The guy cleared his throat and lifted his hand, only to scratch his neck with a tiny grin.  
"I'm so sorry. I tripped ‘cause I wasn't paying attention. And I'm sorry about the paint. I was carrying it in the box, but when I crashed into you, the whole thing spilled over." he said, motioning to the large cardboard box that lay tilted on the ground, with paint oozing out from the many cans.

Katie noticed that the guy's shirt had spots of paint all over it, but somehow he didn't seem to mind. That made her angrier. 

"Ugh! Couldn’t you watch where you were going?! You ruined my dress! I can't show up to work like this! And I'm already running late, so my boss is pretty much gonna eat me alive." 

Her anger was boiling over the edge. Katie was usually the most calm and patient person you could ever meet, but something about this guy brought out the worst in her.

The guy simply smirked. " Pretty sure it's not my fault you were late." He let out a deep chuckle. "Were you so deep asleep that you didn't even hear your alarm?”

Katie was pissed. " You know what? You spilled paint all over me and I don't see you helping. All I see is you being a smart ass and talking back! "

"Listen, I'm sorry, but you gotta admit that you were distracted too. You were going through your bag and didn't see me either." he responded with a shrug.

Katie was officially reaching her breaking point. This moron had crashed into her, spilled paint all over her, ruined her dress and made her even more late; now he had the audacity to blame her?

The guy seemed to sense that Katie was furious. Before her mood worsened, he offered " Jeez, chill out, will you? I have an idea. How about you come with me to my apartment to clean up? I live pretty close by."

Katie scoffed and replied, " No thanks. I'd rather get hit by a car than take your help. And anyway, the restaurant I work at is two blocks away. So I'm good. "

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" 

"If I don't meet you again, then yeah, sure. I'll be just dandy!" 

Katie bent down to take her bag that lay on the ground. 

"Nice view", he remarked with a charming grin, shamelessly checking her out. 

Katie stood up straight, gave him a death glare and without another word, stormed off, not realising that she had left her phone behind on the ground. 

Ugh. Katie prayed to all the gods to never have to meet jerks like him again. Guys like him were the worst. Charming but annoying. Attractive but overconfident. 

Wait, did she just call him attractive? Well, to be fair, he was attractive. But she decided that he wasn't her type and to forget about that whole ordeal once and for all.

Katie was becoming increasingly annoyed by the fact that she was going to be more late to work than she had been before. 

She then thought for a second...why hadn't Nico called her yet? By now, there would've been at least 20 missed calls and a few voicemails. Katie reached into her bag, once again to grab her phone.

With a sudden jolt, she realised that her phone wasn’t in her bag. Panic crept through her as she realised that the last time she had it was when she crashed into that idiot.

She quickly turned around and sprinted back there like a madwoman.  
Gods, she desperately hoped that her phone was still there.

When she got there, she saw that her phone was nowhere to be found. She fell to the ground and started looking around, still hoping that she might've left it there. People started giving her weird stares.

Katie's phone was gone. Gone. There was all kinds of information on it. Her friends' numbers, her pictures, a few bank details. She was this close to having a nervous breakdown on the street in front of dozens of strangers. 

Katie tried to calm herself down. No. She wasn't going to look like an idiot in front of strangers. She was going to relax and think logically. She slowly got up on her feet and started taking deep breaths.

She started thinking. She was sure that this was where she last had her phone. There were two possible things that could’ve happened. Either someone took it from the ground after she left it there ….or the guy she bumped into was a con man, who did it on purpose to steal her phone.

Katie felt her anger rushing back in. If she saw him alive again, she would kill him. She didn't know why, but just thinking about him made her seethe with rage. 

For now, she decided to drop by the local police station and file a complaint. If a stranger had found it, they might have given it there.

Maybe once she reaches the restaurant, she could call her number using one of her friends' phone. That way, if some nice stranger had it, then she could get it back. If not...well, she decided not to think about that.

Although she had formed all these logical plans inside her head, she had a gut feeling that it was most likely the guy who had crashed into her earlier, that had her phone. 

Katie hoped that wasn't true for his sake. Because the next time she saw him she would castrate him.

XXXXXX

Nico Di Angelo had been pacing around in his office for the last 45 minutes. He had called her quite a few times and had left a few voicemails. 

Annabeth, who occasionally dropped in to check on him, had repeatedly told him to relax. But he just couldn't. Katie was one of his best employees. She was almost never late, always came to work dressed appropriately, never caused any kind of damage to his property unlike some people [ cough Jason and Percy cough ] and was also extremely good at what she did. 

Katie was one of his closest friends too. He knew that she'd never be this late unless something bad had happened. That was the reason why he was pacing around his office, worried and stressed to the point of getting an ulcer. 

Just as Nico decided to call her once again, there was a knock on the door of his office. After a second's pause, in came Piper McLean. 

"Hey boss. Katie's here."

Nico breathed a sigh of relief. " Oh, thank God. "

"But...she doesn't look alright.."

Nico's eyebrows shot up." What do you mean, 'doesn't look alright' ? "

"Nothing bad...I think. Anyway, why don't you come and take a look?" 

Nico rushed out the door and followed Piper who led him into the kitchen, where several members of his staff were huddled around a person. A person whose beautiful green dress was ruined with splashes of different coloured paint and whose thick, brown hair looked unkempt.

At once, recognition set in. He pushed through the crowd and reached her. "Katie?"

Katie Gardener turned around to face Nico. Her face twisted into one of relief. 

"Oh my gods, Nico. First off, I'm so sorry I'm late. I just kinda overslept - but like, that's not why I'm late, I mean it's part of the reason, but this guy, with the paint and the box, oh and my phone!"

Nico interrupted Katie's rant with a swift motion of his hand. " Katie, it's okay. How about we go into my office and discuss it there?"

Nico led a disheveled Katie into his office. He sat her down on a chair and offered her a glass of water. As she sat there drinking, he asked, " Okay. Are you alright?" 

"Yes. No. I mean sort of. I'm a little shaken."

"That's obvious. Wanna tell me why you're late to work and covered in paint?"

Katie took a deep breath and launched into a monologue about the events that took place earlier. 

After she was done, Nico stood there with a sober expression. 

"What are you gonna about your phone?" 

Katie quirked her head up. "I need a little help here. I wanna call my number, so I need your phone."

Nico shook his head and said, " Not right now. First, you gotta clean up and then start working. Jace and Percy really need your help back there. And listen, I don't think anything bad's gonna happen. Your phone is passcoded, right?"

"Yep. It is. Thankfully." Katie let out a soft sigh. " Well, okay then. I'm gonna go get cleaned up. And when I take my break, you can lend me your phone, Neeks. " she said with a twinkling smile.

Nico gave her a frustrated look. " Katie, I told you and the rest of the lot. Here at work, you will not refer to me as 'Neeks', 'Death boy', 'Hell boy' or even 'Dark Angel'. Here it's gonna be Nico or boss. Got it?"

With a shrug and a mischievous grin, she said," Whatever you say, Neeks!" 

With that she got up, gave a cheeky wave and left the room. Nico had a tiny smile on his face, despite letting out a sigh.

He sat down on his chair and let his thoughts roam free.

Though these idiots, except for Annabeth of course, annoyed him to no end, they were his best friends. He had met Katie Gardner in high school around 7 years ago. At first, he was sort of cold to her. Just like he was to everyone else. But somehow that didn't deter her even one bit and she continued to be extremely sweet and caring . By the end of the year, she had won him over.

He had met Percy and Jason at this camp for children with ADHD when he was in middle school. They had been good friends ever since. They had been the first people he came out to, besides his sister Bianca. 

And through them he had met Annabeth and Piper. Hazel was his step sister and Frank was her boyfriend. They had become this close knit group and though Nico would never admit it in front of them, he would die and kill for any one of them.

When he was 13 years old, his mother Maria Di Angelo had died in a car accident following which his dad Hades Di Angelo, the multi millionaire and owner of The Furies and Co, bought a new house, a new wife and a new life.

Hades had married Persephone, who owned Lush Springs, a famous floral boutique in the city which had branches all over, and adopted her daughter Hazel. At first, Nico didn't get along with Hazel, no matter how hard she tried. But when Nico came out, depressed about his mom's death and going through a rough patch with his relationship with Hades, she and Bianca had stood by him and helped him overcome the situation.

From then onwards, the three were inseparable. 

Persephone was an extremely sweet woman and she constantly tried her hardest to bond with Nico, but he always pushed her away. He was polite to her, of course, but though she was an amazing woman, he always had this inexplicable feeling that accepting her would be like betraying his mom. Nevertheless, Persephone still tried. 

Nico and his dad Hades owned a restaurant together, four years back. But due to his issues with his dad, which he really didn't wanna think about now, he ended up selling his shares of the restaurant. Then, with his own money and hard work, he started Olympus. 

Yes. He was really young to own a restaurant. Not to mention, how he had taken a lot of financial help from different people to get here. But it had been his dream since he was a little kid. He and his mom loved cooking together when he was a mere boy. It was something special, something of theirs.

When she'd make a pot of Risotto for dinner, he'd talk to her about his day, about Mythomagic, about his friends and he'd help her with the little things too. Though he had to admit, he wasn't very good at cooking. Yes, he loved food and was a connoisseur but in no way was he as good as Katie, Percy or Jason. 

But this was years ago. This was when he was a happy, cheerful little 10 year old. This was before he realised he was gay, before his issues with his dad, before he became a loner. This was before his mom had died.

After that, everything changed. 

His thoughts were interrupted as Percy barged in through the door. "Yo Neeks. That hot blonde guy's casing the building again."

Nico let out an exasperated sigh. " You're supposed to be working right now, Percy."

This hot blonde guy in question had in fact been casing their area for about a week now. The guy was tall, had tanned skin and light blonde curls. His friends teased him saying that blondie was there to check Nico out, when Frank caught the guy outside the glass windows of the restaurant 'apparently' staring at Nico. 

Of course, Nico had the sense to not believe that kind of bullshit. His friends just liked making his existence even more miserable than it already was. (Not really)

Yes. Blondie was good looking. But in no way was there any confirmation that he was into guys. He's probably straight, Nico told himself. And anyway, it's not like he was looking for a relationship right now. 

"Yes, I know, but Jace and Katie have it under control. I was just taking a short break, ya know? And I thought - hey, why not go out for some fresh air, and look who I saw outside? It's Blondie and his friend. The girl with the light brown hair?"

"Yeah. I got it, Percy. I'm pretty sure your break's over now. So will you please go back inside?"

"I'm telling you, Neeks. He was here waiting to see you. I'm sure of it."

"Listen, Perce. I appreciate you trying to hook me up with some hot guy but maybe you should try a gay bar than some rando on the street. Actually, don't do that either. Remember the last time you and Annie set me up with someone?"

Nico shuddered at the thought. Ethan was a giant, creepy asshole. 

"Neeks, that was one time. And how would I have known that Luke's friend would turn out to be that much of a creep?"

"Whatever. Anyway, Goldilocks out there could be straight, ya know? You saw that chick with him right? That's probably his girlfriend and I'm pretty sure she won't appreciate you guys doing this."

Percy simply shrugged. " But - "

"You know why people lurk around buildings and its surrounding areas? To break in. That's right. Maybe he's a burglar. You know what? Today's Monday, so it's Frank's turn to lock up. Tell him to make sure everything is secure before leaving. I'm actually more sure of blondie being a burglar than gay. "

"Or he's the man of your dreams, Nico! You know, the one that you're gonna ride away into the sunset with?" said Percy with a dreamy look.

"Jeez. You're a corny bastard, ya know that? Man, Annabeth has got you whipped. I'm honestly surprised you two haven't started preparing your vows yet." joked Nico, leaning back in his chair.

Percy’s expression immediately froze. He quickly covered it with a nervous laugh and said, "Ha..uh..yeah. That's - that's a good one. You know, I better go now. My break is almost over. "

With that, Percy quickly slammed the door behind him, leaving Nico behind with a puzzled look on his face. 

Nico then shook his head and decided to continue the work left to do.

XXXXX

Another hour passed and Nico decided to take his rounds around the restaurant. He walked out of his office and towards the customers. He began talking to some of them, asking them if the food was up to their satisfaction and if they wanted anything else. 

A few minutes later, Katie came up to him. "Hey Neeks. So I'm taking a break right now and would seriously love it if you could ju…" she trailed off, staring at the window, looking outside. 

Nico turned his head to glance at what she was looking at. 

A large, vibrantly colored truck, with the words "Dumped by a Dumpling" etched on it beautifully, was being parked right outside his restaurant. 

He realised at once that this was a food truck. From the looks of it, they specialised in Chinese food. Gods, he was seriously not ready for any kind of competition for the restaurant right now. Not that he was worried that the food truck was better. It's just that he didn’t want to do the whole - move your truck away from my restaurant speech. He just wasn't interested in engaging and defeating someone else in a war on superior food. It was clear that a Michelin star restaurant would obviously win.

Next to him, Katie stood there with the most horrifyingly angry expression he had ever seen on her since they’d met. She wasn't glaring at the food truck, apparently. She was throwing daggers using her eyes at the tall guy with brown hair who had parked the truck. 

"Him!" she screeched, pointing a finger in the guy's direction. Some of the customers looked at her, in shock. 

Clearly, Nico had missed something there. He took Katie by her hand and pulled her to the kitchen, while shooting the customers an apologetic smile.

"What the hell, Katie?" Nico exclaimed, with a positively scandalised look.

"Nico, that's the guy I was talking about! He took my bloody phone! Oh, I am going to kill him! " she responded angrily rushing forward with a murderous glint in her eyes.

Before she could storm towards the guy, Nico caught her by the hand. " Katie, no. I don't know if you noticed it when you turned into the Wicked Witch of the West, but that guy parked a food truck right outside our restaurant. A Chinese food truck! Every middle class hungry man's affordable dream, right outside a Michelin star restaurant that screams expensive."

"Obviously our food would easily beat theirs....but you shouldn't go ahead and make a scene outside right now." he continued. " It's better to play it safe. I know you want your phone back, so yes, you can go talk to him, but I'm coming with you. For now we should avoid any kind of conflict and remain civil. And we don't wanna make a bad impression on the customers. And you know, there's always the possibility that he didn't take your phone."

Those words seemed to impact Katie and she visibly calmed down a bit. " Fine. Let's go talk to them. If that asshole has my phone, I will stab him, Nico. I. Will. Not. Hesitate."

Katie rarely ever got angry, which was why Nico often forgot how scary it was when she did in fact get mad.

Together they walked across the beautiful hall that hosted the customers and then into the lobby, where Nico gave a slight nod to the receptionist, opened the glass doors that led into their restaurant, and went outside to the truck. 

Nico had to admit. For a food truck that parked here a mere 5 minutes ago, they did have around 3 customers.

Katie walked briskly to the door of the food truck and banged loudly.

"Give me back my phone, you kleptomaniac!" she shouted in rage. Nico sighed. Why didn’t anyone listen to him around here?

After a few seconds, the face of the same guy popped out. He was wearing an apron, with patterns of tiny ducklings. He had a puzzled look on his face, which disappeared when he laid eyes on Katie. 

His face broke into a smile. " It's you..."

"Yes. It's me. The girl you assaulted this morning with your stupid cans of paint and whose phone you stole! I swear to God, if you don't give it back this instant - " she barely finished, when she almost jumped at him with her claws out. 

The guy jumped back, while Nico restrained Katie.

"Will you calm down, Katie?"

Nico then put her back down on the ground, while she huffed, glaring at the guy, who somehow seemed to be enjoying the whole thing. 

With a grin, he held out his hand, "The name's Travis. And by the way, I didn't steal your phone. You left it behind."

Katie simply glared at him, refusing to shake his hand. Nico, gave his hand to Travis with a sigh." I'm Nico. And this is my friend Katie. I believe you have her phone with you? It'd be great if you could hand it over. "

Travis gave him a friendly smile." Sure. I can do that. Hold on." saying this he went back inside.

"I told you. I knew it in my gut that this idiot had it." stated an annoyed Katie. 

After a minute, he emerged out, carrying Katie's phone. He held it out to her. 

Katie snatched her phone out of his hand, all the while scowling at Travis.  
A silence crept over them, which consisted of Katie glaring at Travis and him smirking at her. Nico cleared his throat and asked, "Do you usually take the things people leave behind on the streets or…?"

Travis turned to face him and with a chuckle said," Nah man. After she left I realised that she had forgotten her phone. So I picked it up to give it to her myself. I knew where you guys worked. Olympus, right? My friends and I have seen you a couple of times when we were checking out the neighborhood."

"Wow. Stalker much?" Katie sneered at him, while protectively holding her phone.

But that caught Nico's attention."You were checking out the area?"

"Oh yeah. My friends and I are running a food truck, so we decided to use this as our go to spot." he said, motioning to the food truck behind him. "Great area, ya know? Most of us live close by, not a lot of restaurants round here that specialise in authentic Chinese and it's a pretty known foodie spot."

Nico simply nodded along. Damn. That was some Class A logical reasoning right there. 

While Nico was dwelling on his thoughts for a second, Travis turned his attention to Katie.

"So...now you know. I didn't steal your phone. In fact, I'm the knight in shining armour - well, shining apron" he said, pausing to look at his adorable apron "who saved you, the damsel in distress, in the nick of time." said Travis, with a cheeky grin.

"Okay. Listen here, paint boy. I'm a damsel who can handle her own distress. And in actuality, if you had left my phone right where I lost it, I'd have found it much earlier."

"Jeez, Katie-kat. Someone's got anger issues. And listen, once again, I'm sorry about the paint. You know, have you ever considered the possibility that I might have been distracted because of you? Maybe I was so awestruck by your beauty that I might've lost focus." remarked Travis with a lazy grin.

Katie's mouth was hung open in shock. "Are you hitting on me right now?"

"Why so shocked, Kitty-kat? Is it because you're not really that used to compliments?"

"Stop giving me those nicknames, you imbecile."

"Sure. I can do that. Let me buy you a drink, and we can discuss what kind of nicknames you'd prefer then?" 

Travis had a cocky grin planted on his face. 

Nico had to admit. The guy was smooth. Smoother than a buttered floor..

But Katie did not seem to think so. She looked as though she would tear Travis into pieces.

" You arrogant little - " she had barely completed when the door swung open. There, in front of them, stood the hot blonde guy who had been looking around the area.

He had a confused expression on his face. "Travis, what's going on? "

Travis looked up at him and said, "Nothing. Just talking to this angel from heaven here.”

Though Katie held an angry expression, Nico could see her blush very clearly.  
Nico turned his attention to Blondie, who stood next to Travis. 

The blonde guy smiled at him. Nico felt a radiance pass through him when he smiled. Nico figured he might be Travis' friend.

"Hey. My name's Will Solace."

Nico nodded and said," Nico."

Will's smile grew even wider. " Can we help you somehow?" He then snuck a peek at Katie and whispered to him," Is your friend alright? She looks as though she might need medical attention. She's shaking. And you know, I can help. I worked as a medical intern sometime back."

Nico turned to look at Katie. She did in fact look like she needed help. Her face was red and her breathing was erratic. She seemed to be shaking with rage. 

" No. That won't be necessary. Pretty sure she's just pissed off at Travis here."

Will let out a small laugh. It was like music to Nico's ears. " Yeah. He can do that to people sometimes. "

All of a sudden, Nico remembered the reason why he was here in the first place.  
" Hey uh...Will. Can I talk to the owner of this food truck?" 

"I'd say you're talking to him right now." 

Will was the owner of 'Dumped by a Dumpling'. Great. Just his luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. We will try to update as often as we can but please keep in mind that we are two heavily burdened, sleep deprived students lol. Kudos and comments are extremely appreciated :)


	2. Gives you Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and his friends desperately try to get along with their neighbours. Nico is the most stubborn restauranteur in the history of the world. Annabeth is acting weird. And Travis is still as bold as ever.

There is a sense in which we are all each other's consequence.  
\- Wallace Stegner

Will was the owner of the food truck. Great. Just his luck. 

He knew that the others had been wrong. Will hadn't been looking around the neighborhood to see Nico. He had been searching for a spot for his food truck. 

Gods, this was gonna get ugly. "Okay. Great. So, Will, I'm gonna have to ask you to move your... food truck." Katie, who stood beside him, shot him a look. Was he really going to do that?

Will scrunched up his nose in the most adorable way and asked, "Why? I don't understand. Is everything alright?"

"It'll be just peachy as soon as you move your truck from here. You've parked right in front of my restaurant." said Nico, pointing at Olympus that stood behind them.

A light frown took over Will's expression, but he continued ever so friendly. "Nico, you have an amazing restaurant and I'm sure the food there is great. But I don't think you have any right to tell us to move our food truck from here. "

Katie and Travis had completely forgotten about their little argument and were watching him and Will, carefully.

"You are parked right outside my restaurant. Pretty sure I have some kind of right."

"Look, how about we talk this out and come to some kind of understanding?"

"There is nothing to understand here. You should just move the damn truck, Will."

"You own the restaurant, not the street, death boy." joked Will.

Nico glared at him intensely. "Do. Not. Call. Me. Death boy." 

Seeing the expression on his face, Will looked a bit startled. 

An idea struck Nico. What if -  
"Do you have a permit to park here?" asked Nico curtly. 

"Aah. As a matter of fact, I do." said Will, with a grin. Goddamn it. Well.. at least he's not the guy to get into trouble with the law anytime soon. 

"I don't get why you want us to move, though. Are you that threatened by the fact that we could be serving better food at better rates and could attract more customers? " said Will, with a goofy smile. 

Katie's eyes shot up in shock. No one ever made any kind of rude comment about Nico's restaurant and his food, whether they were joking or not. Nico would attack him like a feral cat. 

"Don't you dare. You do realise that you're talking about the Michelin star restaurant, Olympus, right? You couldn't attract more customers if you started selling meth." snarled Nico.

Will looked taken aback. Travis immediately jumped in to diffuse the situation. “Nico, my man, calm down. Will here was just messing around. He doesn't - " he barely completed when Katie snapped at him.

"Oh, shut up. He wasn't even talking to you, you Walmart version of Noah Centineo."

"Kit Kat, please. I don't look like Noah Centineo. He looks like me."

"Okay, that's enough." said Will, trying to prevent another argument.

"Get the truck out of my sight, sunshine. This is the big league. 'Dumped by a Dumpling' doesn't belong here." said Nico, spitting out the truck's name with a sort of distaste. 

"Okay. That was unnecessary. You haven't even tasted our food." interrupted Travis.

Katie rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, sure. If you were the one making it, I'm sure we'd all just die of food poisoning."

"Ha! Excuse me? I cook top of the line dim sum." declared Travis with an arrogant smirk.

"Guys. Stop it. There are people here. It's best for both parties if we don't make a scene." said Will, trying to calm everyone down.

Nico considered this for a moment. He wasn't gonna risk any bad reputation because of them. 

"Fine. Katie, come on. We're leaving." Nico then turned around to walk away. 

Will called out to him, "Nico, wait! What I meant was… Can't we talk about this somewhere private?"

"No thanks, Solace. Unlike you, some of us are busy and have plenty of work to do." said Nico, as he walked back to his restaurant with Katie. 

They stormed into the lobby and walked over to Nico's office. 

Katie plopped herself down on his recliner and angrily exclaimed, "The nerve of that two faced pig."

Nico took a deep breath to calm himself down. 

Glancing at him, Katie remarked, "Sorry, Neeks. Looks like Blondie wasn't stalking you. He was just in search of somewhere to park his beat up truck."

"Whatever. It's not like I was into him in the first place. This is exactly why I tell people not to engage in relationships. Way too much drama." 

Nico let out a frustrated sigh as Katie eyed him with a pitiful smile." Well, look who's about to blow a gasket. You were the one who told me to handle this calmly and discreetly. "

"Yeah, I know." Nico raised his eyebrow at her. " You're the most patient person I know, but you screamed your head off at that Travis guy."

Katie released a deep breath and leaned back into the recliner. "I don't know why, hellboy, but he just makes me so…."

"Turned on?" suggested Nico, with a grin. 

Katie gave him an accusatory glare. "What? No! I am not into that asshole. "

"Katie, please. You compared him to Noah Centineo. Your celebrity crush. I'm not blind. You clearly feel something for him."

"Yes, I do. Anger. Fury. Loathing." 

Nico let out a soft chuckle. Looking at him, Katie couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

At that moment, in came Annabeth Chase. 

"Hey boss. Katie. I need a favor. "

"What's up, Annie?" 

"Would it be possible for you to let Percy and I leave around 3?" she requested with a smile.

Annabeth was the best manager anyone could ask for. Nico wouldn't trust anyone here to look after the affairs of the restaurant more than Annie. She was one of his closest friends, so there was no doubt regarding that matter. 

"Yeah. Of course. That's totally fine by me." he said, reassuringly.

Annabeth gave him a grateful smile. 

"Where are you off to, Annie?" Katie quirked an eyebrow, curious.

"Oh, just to check the venue for - " she immediately froze as though she had accidentally let something out. 

"The.. uh.. the venue for, um… Sally and Paul's anniversary. " she nervously stated.

Nico raised his eyebrows in confusion. "I thought that was next month?" 

Annabeth seemed to stammer for a second as she continued, " Yeah, it is. But Percy wanted the perfect venue for the party, so we decided to start the hunt early. Cheaper too, ya know? " 

Nico suspected that something was off. Annabeth rarely ever was like this, and now that he thought about it, Percy had been acting weird too. Unlike him, though, Katie didn't seem to think anything was wrong.

"That's great, Annie. I'll make empanadas for the event. Still Paul's favourite, aren't they?"

"Thanks, Katie." 

Annabeth turned around to leave but then paused and faced them. "Is everything alright with you guys? Piper said you stormed in through the door…"

Katie let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know if you saw it but there's a big bright food truck right outside the restaurant. "

"Yeah, we saw them parking it. Wait, did you get into a fight with them? Is that what happened?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah. Remember Blondie?"

"Yeah. The hot guy who was checking you out."

"Hot, yes. Gay, no. Anyway, his name is Will and he owns the truck. I asked him to move it ‘cause, you know... it's parked right outside."

Annabeth was nodding along.  
"Uh huh. And what'd he say?"

"He said he can't move it. And since he has a permit to park there, we can't do much about it."

"Oh, and that guy I was telling you about? The one who spilled paint all over me? So… get this. He works with Will." interrupted Katie, with an unsatisfied expression.

"Wait, really?" 

They both told Annabeth what exactly had taken place. 

"And Katie here went totally ballistic. I have never seen her this angry at someone." stated Nico, with a light shudder.

"Oh, come on. You were pissed off at Will too. And like I said before, Travis just agitates me for some reason. " 

"Guys, I gotta say, maybe you're just overreacting. I mean, Will has a permit and he chose a good spot for the truck. That's hardly his fault. And Katie, what Travis did today morning was an accident. He did find your phone, you know? I mean, what if he had left it there and some random creep had picked it up? That'd have been worse." explained Annabeth, with a look that said she knew she was right. 

"They were pretty friendly too. I don't know, maybe you guys are being a bit too harsh. I mean, look at it from their perspective. They just wanted a nice place for their food truck but they're being yelled at by a short angry Italian and his friend with caveman era hair.  
They just wanted to talk it out. Maybe you should do that." stated Annabeth, shrugging.

Katie narrowed her eyes. "Whose side are you on, Annie?"

Annabeth sighed. "That's my point, you guys. There needn't be any sides. You guys are blowing things way out of proportion.”

Nico seemed to consider this. Annabeth did have a point. Maybe, just maybe… they were a bit too harsh.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Fine. We'll play nicer next time. But that doesn't mean that we're going for a truce."

Nico nodded his head in agreement. Just because he now thought he was a little harsh didn’t change the fact that they were competition. No matter how good looking Will may be. Gods, he had to stop. 

"Well. As much fun as this has been, Percy and I are gonna wrap up. We're leaving in 30 minutes, so..." said Annabeth glancing at her watch.

"Sure. Have fun." said Katie with a wave. 

Annabeth then left the room hastily, leaving Katie and Nico behind. 

"Okay. Time's up, Katie. You gotta go back to work. We've wasted enough time already." 

Katie slowly got up from the recliner. "Yeah. You're right. Jace and Percy would've messed up somehow."

"C'mon. They're not that bad. " shrugged Nico.

Katie quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Do I need to remind you again of what happened last week with the wine glasses?"

Wincing at the memory of all the broken glass, Nico replied, "Touche. Now, off to work, will you?"

Katie raised her hand in surrender as she walked out of the room. "I'm going, I'm going."

After she left, Nico closed the door behind her. He really needed to catch up with some well deserved sleep ‘cause he had pulled an all nighter yesterday. Man, was he tired. 

He laid down on the small couch in the room and was gently drifting off to sleep when Hazel barged in. 

Nico immediately sat upright and sighed. He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn. 

"Nico? There's some people here to see you." she said, while cowering near the door.

"If it's the truffle vendors tell them to talk to Annabeth." he said drowsily.

"It's not them. The people from the food truck are here."

Nico's eyes shot up. "Will's here?"

"No, not him. It's this other guy and girl."

Slightly disappointed, Nico scrunched up his nose in confusion. He only knew Travis and Will. Who were these people then?

"So... should I let them in?"

"Uh… yeah, sure. Thanks Hazel." 

"No problem." replied Hazel with a smile as she left the room. 

He got up from the couch and straightened himself out. 

Then a young hispanic man with curly brown hair and a soft grin entered. With him was a beautiful girl with long, light brown hair fitted into braids. She had large, dark eyes and held a small box in her hands.

Glancing at Nico's confused expression, the boy introduced himself. "Hey. I'm Leo. And this is Calypso. We work in Will's food truck."

Nico nodded along with a wary look. "Nice to meet you both. Can I help you?"

Leo nervously scratched the back of his neck and continued. "Look, man. Will told us about what happened earlier. I know we're parked right outside your restaurant, but I'm pretty sure that won’t affect your business. I mean, you own a famous Michelin star restaurant after all. So we thought we'd come over to talk things out and maybe then we could be on good terms."

Calypso smiled warmly at Nico, and held the box in her hand up to him. "Here. These are some cupcakes from the bakery on the next block. We thought it'd be the first step to becoming good friends!" 

Damn. For a guy who dressed like he lived in a cemetery, Nico sure did have a sweet tooth. 

No. No. They were nice but he can't go soft on the competition. 

"That’s really sweet, but I'm sorry. I can't accept that." he said, pointing to the box Calypso held.

A crestfallen expression crossed her face. "I'm sorry, but why?"

Oh man. He hated this but there was nothing he could do. They were competition. Plain and simple. 

Calypso seemed to have been excited about being friendly with the folks from the restaurant. And the fact that he had straight up refused to take the cupcakes was, well... unfriendly. Leo put a hand behind her and rubbed soothing circles onto her back. 

"You guys are competition. And sure, you might not be that much of a threat, but it's best not to engage in good terms. We can be civil. That's possible. But I'm not so sure about the friends part."

Leo had a dejected look on his face. He subconsciously moved closer to Calypso in reach for comfort.

"Look, you guys are really nice and I wish this could’ve gone down in a different way, but it didn't. It's nothing personal. It's just business." continued Nico, a neural expression gracing his face. 

Leo nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, I understand, man. I guess we'll leave you to it then. C'mon, Callie." he said in a sober tone as he turned to leave. 

Calypso looked up at Nico and said with a soft smile. "Will you atleast keep the cupcakes? They're really good, ya know?"

Gods, why was she this sweet? He mustered up a polite yet curt smile, "That's a kind gesture, but I'm afraid I can't."

With a defeated sigh, she turned around and left the room holding Leo's hand.

Nico sat down on his couch and took a deep breath.

As Calypso and Leo were leaving the restaurant, Katie Gardner came up to them. 

"Hey. I'm Katie. And... you're Leo and Calypso." 

At their confused stares she clarified, "I was right outside the door when you guys were talking to Nico."

Katie had now calmed down after the earlier incident. When she thought about it… she realised there really was no reason to be mad at anyone except Travis; Will wasn't the idiot who made her look like Pennywise today.

Leo nodded. "Listen. We get it if you don't -

He barely completed when Katie interrupted. 

"Leo, if I'm being honest, I really don't have a problem with you guys. You seem like good people. Do I wish that your food truck was parked elsewhere? Yes. But I believe we can be on good terms."

Calypso raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, Katie. Your boss made it pretty clear that won't be happening."

"I know that Nico seems like this cold, rude, drinking 50 year old wine type of businessman… but he isn't. It's gonna take some time for him to come around." stated Katie, bluntly. 

Leo gave her a puzzled look. " So.... wait. Does this mean that you wanna help us? Does this mean we're on good terms?"

Katie took a deep breath. She had a conflicted expression on her face."I'm gonna be honest. I think you guys are really sweet. The cupcakes are a thoughtful gesture. And I gotta tell you, I'm not the type to act rude or unfriendly. In fact I'm quite the opposite."

“But Travis flips me out. He's an asshole. So, yes, I wanna try to be on good terms with you and convince the others because a competition will do neither of us any good. But in no way am I being friendly to that jerk." said Katie, in a definite tone. 

"So, since I'm trying to help you out... I think I'll take the cupcakes?" she asked, holding out her hand. 

Leo gave her a wide grin. "This was all a ploy to get the cupcakes, wasn't it?"

Katie gave out a twinkling laugh and retorted, "Aah. I've been caught."

Calypso gave her the box with the most radiant smile one could have. 

"Thank you, Katie." she said. "Really. We're new to the business and would love to start it without any kind of feud. In fact, it'd be great if we could all just get along. So, what I'm saying is - thank you for trying."

Katie gave her a smile. "Okay. You're too sweet. I'm gonna give you a hug now. "

Laughing, Calypso embraced Katie in a quick hug. 

After they separated, a light frown took over Katie's face. "Seriously though. I'm not gonna be this friendly to Travis. Also tell him to stop giving me nicknames. I really hate it." 

"Sure thing."

For a minute, Katie observed Leo and Calypso. They had this… vibe. The way they stood close to each other, how they leaned into each other, how Leo always put his hand at the small of Calypso's back. She thought they were somehow... more than friends. 

Katie had no problem interacting with strangers or people she'd just met. She was an extrovert after all. 

"You know, you guys make a really cute couple." 

As soon as those words were spoken, Leo and Calypso both blushed intensely. They moved a little further away from each other. 

"Oh no, we're not - "

"It's not like - "

"We don't - "

Bingo. She knew it. They weren't together but obviously had a thing for each other. 

Katie had this wonderful skill where she could read people very easily. She was excellent at setting up people too. She grinned as she saw her next project in front of her.

"Oh well…. my bad.”

Leo was still blushing. "Yeah, well... it's getting late. We're probably needed at the truck, so we're gonna go."

"Yeah. He's right. First day and all, you know?" remarked Calypso with a shy grin. "Anyways, thanks a lot, Katie. We really appreciate it."

"Of course." Katie gave them a wide smile.

With a quick wave in Katie's direction, they walked to the lobby, leaving the building. 

XXXXXXXX

Will had been waiting for Leo and Calypso to return. 

"Dude. Calm down before you die of an aneurysm." called out Travis who was cooking his famous dim sum in the truck. 

For their first day here, they had a pretty good amount of customers. It wasn't rush hour now, so things were a bit sober.

"Hey, I know you're worried about how this Nico guy is gonna react. I get it, you wanna be on good terms with him. Not to mention you being so obviously attracted to him."

That caught Will's attention. He nearly dropped the Peking Duck he was handing over to a customer. He turned around and shot Travis a scathing look.

"What? It's obvious, dude. You wanted to rip off his shirt and make out with him earlier. Well, it might not have been that obvious to Nico, but you do this thing where you joke around a lot more than usual when you're nervous. You also do this thing with your eyes where you stop blinking and stare pretty intensely. It's pretty creepy, actually." stated Travis as he continued to cook.

"Can you not be that crude?" said Will with a sigh. "And let me guess, you're gonna tell me that he’s like the lovechild of John Mayer and Brendon Urie? Which is sort of true, of course. He is good looking, but right now I'm more worried about our food truck. You know those guys are some pretty rich folk. They could play around a little, use their power and kick us out. It's much better to be on good terms with them."

"Well, yes, I suppose that's true. Okay, forget that. You're dampening the mood. Let's talk about something else, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's talk about how you've got the hots for Katie." said Will, a teasing smile adorning his face. 

“I mean yeah, she's cute. I'd wanna grab a drink with her. But I don't know man, I'm not looking for anything serious right now.”

“Add in the fact that she can't seem to stand being in the same room as you for 5 minutes without screaming at you." stated Will, half-joking and half-serious. 

“We.... started out rough, I suppose. But once she sees me for the charming, sexy god I am, she's gonna fall for me. That's a fact.” stated Travis confidently.

“Whatever you say, man.”

Just then the door of the food truck flung open and Leo and Calypso came in. 

“Hey. How'd it go?” asked Will, eagerly wanting to know if things had gone well.

“Well, Nico was polite, but he stood by his decision to not associate with us in any way.” said Calypso. 

“Yep. He didn't even take the cupcakes, man!” said Leo, seemingly shocked by the fact. 

“But…. we ran into Katie. She was really sweet. She took the cupcakes and said she'd like to be on good terms with all of us. Well, except for Travis. She does not like him.”

“Uh huh. She also told us to tell you not to give her those nicknames.” said Leo giving Travis a pointed look. 

“She loves me!” called out Travis with a cocky grin, still cooking.

While Will wouldn't call Travis a womanizer, he was definitely no 'one woman' kind of man. Lots of girls found him charming.

This trait had been a trademark for the Stoll family. Travis’s younger brother Connor too wasn't any less of a charmer. 

“Well, that's good. At least Katie's willing to try.” said Will with a shrug.

“Yeah. She was actually really friendly. I don't know why but something about Travis flips her out.” remarked Calypso thoughtfully.

“Is it my charming personality and my dashing good looks?” 

Travis had stopped cooking now and had come over to them. 

“Oh, shut up.” said Calypso good naturedly, leaning into Leo while laughing loudly. 

“While all that is good, one thing I don't get is why Nico is so hostile. I mean, it's not like we're stealing his customers or anything.” 

Leo gave a light shrug. “I honestly don't know why either.”

While they were talking, Will noticed that a few customers were slowly gathering around their truck. 

“Okay, guys. Customers. Back to work.” 

With that, Travis, Leo and Calypso went back to work. 

The idea of running a food truck had first been proposed by Leo. He basically pointed out how all of them were good cooks and how with Will's granddad's old food truck they could start something of their own. Not necessarily anything permanent. They'd go with the flow, he suggested. 

The others were immediately on board with the idea and now… here they were. 

Will had asked his dad Apollo to let them use the truck, and then, with the help of the others, had repaired and repainted the truck. 

The truck was now vibrantly coloured red, yellow and orange and looked beautiful.

They decided to make authentic chinese food because they felt that the so-called chinese most take out restaurants served were just sauces and meat. It was not actual chinese cuisine. Add in the fact that chinese food was the four friends' favourite. 

Will was proud of himself and his friends. He was proud of his truck and he was happy. Content.

But in the back of his head, he was worried about the whole Nico situation. He was not ready for a full fledged war for culinary superiority. Not now when they had barely set up camp. And definitely not with a restaurant that served Michelin star worthy food. 

He didn't get why Nico was so harsh, though. It was not like their food truck was much of a threat to his business.

Will had seen Nico around the neighborhood a couple of times before. Of course, he had no idea he owned Olympus at the time. He just thought he worked there. Like a manager or maitre d' or something. 

He thought that Nico was handsome. No doubt about it. He was also obviously gay. Will was not embarrassed to admit that he had openly checked him out a couple of times. (read: a lot of times. Seriously. It bordered on stalking)

But now that he knew Nico owned Olympus… well, that changed things. Especially since Nico seemed to not wanna be on friendly terms with them.

Will had come out as bi to his parents years ago. They had been extremely supportive and as liberal as they come. 

He hadn't dated anybody serious in the last few years, though. Will had been focusing on his medical degree and didn't wanna get into a relationship then. 

But as it happens, working as a medical intern for some time and seeing sick and injured people all day made him decide that he needed a change. And voila, that's where the truck came into play.

Will glanced at his friends who were cooking and occasionally bursting into peals of laughter.

He let a soft smile adorn his face. Man, did he love these guys. 

He had met Leo when they were in elementary school and had been friends since.  
The yearbook committee in his high school had brought him in contact with Calypso. 

Travis had entered his life when he was in college. They were roommates and had shared quite a few classes together. 

And just like that, he had found his little group of friends. They always had his back and supported him when no one did.

When he came out as bisexual, Travis was indifferent to it. He supported him and said that his sexuality was a part of him that he should be proud of. Calypso on the other hand burst into tears, hugged him and repeatedly told him that she loved him. Callie was like that. No one could not like her.

He had been most nervous to tell Leo because he had known him for the longest time. When he told Leo, he replied saying that he had always sort of known and had a few good guys that he was eager to set him up with. 

At that moment, Will realised that these three would have his back no matter what. He was glad he had them in his life.

His reverie was interrupted when a shout of pain was heard.

He turned his head to look at Calypso, who had accidentally cut her finger and was now bleeding profusely.

“Shit, Callie! Are you okay? Here, give me your hand.” said Leo, who had rushed to her side before the other two could even react.

Leo took her bleeding finger in his hand and examined the wound. He then took her to the sink and washed all the blood away.

Travis shot Will a knowing look. It was obvious to them that Leo and Calypso liked each other. The way they laughed and talked with each other, how protective Leo was of her, how Calypso could always make him listen to voice of reason...all this made their feelings evident.

They had been tip - toeing around each other for quite some time now. Travis was pretty close to holding an intervention. 

After cleaning her wound, he applied an antibacterial ointment to the wound from the first aid kit and then wrapped her finger with a bandage. 

They were clearly having a moment. A moment so intimate that Will felt compelled to look away.

After this, Calypso nervously thanked Leo who awkwardly brushed away her thanks.

Man, those two were so dense. Travis let out a loud sigh and raised his hands in frustration behind them.

Travis had wanted them to get together for quite some time now. 

When Travis was a toddler, his dad had left him and his pregnant mom behind and ran away with some other woman. 

His mom Tessa Stoll was a strong, kind and independent woman. She had turned her life around for her kids and practically raised them all on her own.

Travis engaged in shallow relationships and never stayed with one person for too long because of his dad. He had never told Will that in explicit words but it was implied. 

Sometimes, Will felt as though this thing with his dad leaving him resulted in Travis having abandonment issues. It was a sensitive subject for Travis. 

Will sometimes forgot the sad aspects of Travis’ life because of how carefree and happy go lucky he was in front of everyone else.

Will's thoughts were interrupted when another customer came into view. He then got on with his work.

After a few hours, Will decided to take a break and went out of the truck to stretch and get some fresh air.

As he stood there, he could see Nico inside Olympus, talking to his employees.

Questions flooded his mind. Why was Nico so angry with them? Why did he turn this whole ordeal into a competition when it clearly wasn't one. What night cream did he use to get that smooth skin?

At an impulse, Will decided to go talk to him. He didn't know what came over him, but he walked boldly towards the entrance.

He entered the restaurant and walked straight ahead. Then, a brunette with kaleidoscopic eyes and tanned skin, who had seen him approaching, came up to him.

“Hello. I'm Piper. You're Will, right?” 

“Uh.... yeah. Listen, this'll just take a minute, but.... can I talk to Nico?” 

Piper held a doubtful expression.  
“I don't know… he's pretty busy in his office right now.”

“Look, I promise I'm not here for a fight. I just wanna talk to him.” said Will, trying to convince Piper.

Piper let out a soft sigh.

“Fine. But make it quick.”

“Thank you!”

Will quickly walked over to the direction in which Piper said Nico's office was. He knocked on the door.

A deep rich voice was heard. “Since when have any of you knocked? Come in.”

Will slowly opened the door and stepped in. Nico had his gaze fixed on some book. “Hey.” Will greeted him.

Nico's eyes shot up to look at him.  
He kept his book away and got up from his recliner. “What're you doing here?”

“Nico, can we please talk?” he asked, giving him his best puppy dog eyes.

Nico sighed, waved him over to the couch next to him and sank back into his recliner.

Will walked over and placed himself on the couch.

“Okay. You have 5 minutes. Talk.”

“I just wanna know why you're so hostile.”

Nico held an irritated expression on his face. But, somehow, that didn't diminish his beauty even one bit, thought Will.

“This is not me being hostile. If I were hostile, your truck would be burned to char by now."

“Nico, why can't we just... get along?”

“Will, please don't.”

“I just - I don't get why things have to be like this.” said Will, shifting in his seat. He stared at him with soft eyes and pouted his lips. 

“Look, Will. I want you to hear me loud and clear. It's nothing personal. It's just business. It'd be easier to compete if we aren't friends with the competition, get it?”

“But there's no need to compete.” stated Will, confused.

“Will, I don't know what kind of world you live in… but in my world I've been taught that life is a competition. To win, you need to be one step ahead. And clearly you don't.” responded Nico in an exasperated tone.

Nico leaned forward, their faces inches apart. He continued in a quiet tone. 

“The minute you parked your food truck right outside my restaurant, you declared this competition.” 

Will had a hard time focusing on his words. The sudden proximity between them was oh so evident. He stared right into Nico's beautiful eyes. 

“That's a little dramatic, don't you think?” joked Will nervously.

At once, Nico got up from his recliner, which caused Will to jump back.

“No. It's not.” He walked over to the door behind which some quick shuffling was heard. Nico held it open for him with a stone cold expression. “Now that I've answered your questions, please feel free to leave.”

“But - “

“No seriously. Feel absolutely free to leave.”

Will sighed and rose up from the couch. He walked over to the door and paused, his glance subconsciously falling on Nico's soft lips. “Thank you for your time.”

Nico simply nodded. Will then walked out of the door and over to the lobby.

At that moment, two voices called out his name from behind him.

He stopped and whipped his head around to see two guys standing there. One was tall, had a pale complexion, short blonde hair and blue eyes. He had a small scar near the hook of his lips and wore glasses.

The other was tall, muscular and of Asian descent. He had jet black hair and brown eyes. 

“Hey man. My name's Jason and this is Frank “ said the blonde with a smile. 

“Hey. I'm -” he barely completed when Frank interrupted him. 

“Will. We know. So… we heard you and Nico. We were right outside the door.”

Well. He supposed it was a custom for Olympus’ employees to ‘casually listen into’ their boss’ conversations with others. 

“Yeah. Look, man. We just wanted to apologise on Nico's behalf.” stated Jason with an apologetic look.

“No. You don't need to. It's not your fault.” 

“Yeah. Still, you deserve an apology. Look, Nico works day and night for this restaurant. Using all his money and hard work, he made the restaurant what it is today." explained Frank. 

"Yeah. His restaurant is everything to him. It's like his baby." 

"Anyway, we just hope you understand that this isn't him. Yes, he is protective of his restaurant, but he isn't just another cold, arrogant rich kid , you know? It's just... he's had a rough life…" remarked Jason, and shared a glance with Frank. 

Frank nodded in agreement and then took a deep breath. 

"Uh… thank you for telling me this. I appreciate it. I've got some work to do at the truck now, so…"

"Yeah. Of course, dude. We get it. Duty calls." replied Frank. 

"Yeah. Anyway, it was nice meeting you guys." said Will with a smile. 

He turned around to leave and then paused. He turned back to face them.

"Hey. You guys should come by the food truck sometime with the rest of your friends. Just maybe.... you could taste our food and meet my friends…"

Jason and Frank shared a look. 

"Unless you think Nico won't approve… then I totally understand."

"It'll take some time to convince him, that's for sure. But don't worry. I know he looks like he'd kill you and throw your body in the sea - " said Jason, when Frank interrupted him and said with a shrug.  
"Actually, he probably will, but…" 

"- but he'll come around. So yes. We'll come over to your truck some time, man." continued Jason with a radiant smile. 

"That's great, then. Well, I gotta get going but… see you around." said Will warmly.

Jason and Frank said their goodbyes and went back in to work as Will walked out of the restaurant.

Well… maybe they were right. The others at the restaurant seemed pretty chill. Maybe Nico will be too. He probably just needed some time, that’s all. 

With the hope that Nico would change his mind, Will went back in the foodtruck to get on with his work. 

XXXXXXXXXX

It was around 11:45 in the night, when Katie Gardner walked out of the restaurant, waiting at the entrance for her ride.

Hazel and Nico had already left.  
Frank and Silena were closing up. 

While Katie stood there waiting, Travis was closing up the food truck. He handed the keys to Will, who took it and left with the truck. 

As he was waving goodbye to the retreating figure of Calypso, he caught sight of Katie standing outside the restaurant, going through her phone.

He decided to call out to her. “Katie! Hey!”

As soon as she heard his voice, she turned away and started walking briskly to her left without looking in his direction.

Travis quickly sprinted after her. “Whoa! Slow down, Katie kat!”

He caught up with her and started walking beside her.

Katie then stopped in her tracks and turned to face Travis. Travis stopped too and looked at her. 

Frustrated, she asked, “What do you want?”

“A date with you.”

“Really? And what makes you think I'd say yes to that?” she asked with an annoyed expression.

“Where do I start? I'm extremely hot and have the body of Adonis. I’m an excellent cook. I can do the tango pretty well.” stated Travis, gesturing to himself with an arrogant grin. “Oh and I can do an amazing cartwheel.”

Katie scoffed and rolled her eyes. “So can a 15 year old cheerleader, Travis.”

Travis simply shrugged, his lips quirked in a smile. 

There was a moment of silence. 

“I don't wanna go out with you, Travis.”

“Why? Is it because you're scared that you're gonna fall for me by the end of the month?” asked Travis with a bold smirk.

Katie raised an eyebrow. “Ha! You wish. I'm not falling for that trick. I wouldn't go out with you even if you were the last man on Earth.”

Travis mockingly clutched his chest and joked,” Awww. How you wound me, Kit Kat.”

Katie ignored him and checked the time on her watch. 

Travis then offered. “You know, it's pretty late. Do you need a ride to your place?”

Katie hesitantly quirked an eyebrow in question. 

“Leo and I have a car. Nothing fancy, just a second hand. We could drop you.” he continued. “It's not safe to be out this late. Mugging’s a common occurrence ‘round here.”

”Really? Do you know this because you've got friends in the mugging business?”

Hearing that, Travis let out a soft chuckle.

“Anyway, I don't need a ride. My friends Jason and Piper are dropping me off at my apartment on their way.” she continued.

Travis gave a light shrug. “As long as you're safe.”

At that exact moment, Jason and Piper walk out of the restaurant and onto the street. 

They looked around and once they saw Katie, Jason called out. “Hey Katie! You coming?”

“Yeah. Coming.”

With that she started to walk away in their direction.

“Katie! Hold on!” 

Katie turned to face Travis, who had called out for her. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

With a shrug, she replied, ”It's a free country.”

“Why do you dislike me so much?” he questioned with a genuine look.

Katie seemed to be caught off guard with that question. 

After a second, she looked right at him and said, “Honestly? I don't know.”

Travis looked into her beautiful brown eyes for a second.

Then she turned around and started walking towards her friends, leaving a confused Travis behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. We will try to update soon. Kudos and comments are extremely appreciated :)

**Author's Note:**

> So, here's the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. We will try to update as often as possible but please keep in mind that we are heavily burdened, sleep deprived students who are big on procrastination lol.  
> Kudos and Comments are appreciated :)


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